Netherlands: “We will soon have a meeting with the EBU about the unfair exclusion of Joost Klein – Our questions remain unanswered”!
After the Swedish public prosecutor’s announcement of the suspension of the criminal prosecution of Joost Klein regarding the incident that happened between him and a camerawoman of the production, and also the relevant announcement of the EBU on the issue, it was the turn of the Dutch public television AVROTROS to receive position. As expected, the Dutch public television declares itself justified, characterizing the exclusion of Joost Klein from the Eurovision final as unfair and unnecessary, while stating that there will soon be a meeting with the EBU on the issue, but also on all the other questions raised by remain unanswered.
Joost Klein “innocent” beyond doubt
According to what the Swedish public prosecutor’s office announced earlier, the case file was closed for lack of evidence. This means that Joost Klein will not be prosecuted further.
The Swedish public prosecutor writes that the investigation into a 26-year-old man who allegedly threatened a woman has been closed. The investigation shows that Klein made a motion that hit the camera. According to the prosecutor, the incident happened quickly and the stories of Klein and the camerawoman are conflicting. It is therefore not possible to know exactly what happened and whether there was criminally unacceptable behavior under Swedish law.
The EBU stands by its decision to expel Joost Klein
The EBU expelled Joost Klein from the final of Eurovision 2024 as you remember, immediately after the complaint of the worker in the production of the contest. Wanting to clarify its position, the EBU immediately after today’s acquittal of Joost Klein from the criminal prosecution states:
The decision to exclude Mr Klein from this year’s competition was made in accordance with Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) rules, following an internal investigation.
At the same time, the Swedish police decided to launch a formal investigation into Mr Klein’s behavior during the second semi-final, which we understand closed today without further action.
This was an investigation into whether a criminal act was committed, not whether Mr Klein behaved inappropriately and breached Eurovision rules and procedures. Therefore, this new development has no impact on our decision, which we fully support.
Jean Philip De Tender, Deputy Director General and Media Director of the EBU
Essentially, based on the above announcement, the criminal responsibilities of Joost Klein, which do not exist according to the Swedish prosecutor’s office, are separated from the violation of the competition regulations that were violated in the incident in question, a conclusion reached by the EBU after an internal investigation which he did.
AVTROTOS justified after the latest updates
The Dutch public television, which from the very beginning had proposed a different kind of punishment for Joost Klein than the ban, which they considered excessive, as you now realize, feels vindicated.
In its announcement, AVTROTROS states that they will soon have a meeting with the EBU to discuss both the unfair, as they describe, the exclusion of Joost Klein, and all the other questions they have addressed regarding what happened behind the scenes of the competition, questions for which they have not yet received answers.
From the beginning we have said that this disqualification was unnecessary and disproportionate and that is what it has now proven to be.
We are still very disappointed that the Europapa adventure of Joost Klein and the whole of the Netherlands was brutally ended in this way. The next step is that a meeting with the EBU management will take place about this matter in the short term.
This unjustified disqualification will be central to this meeting. We will also discuss all our other objections about the way things are going behind the scenes at the Song Festival, which we previously sent in an extensive letter of objection to the EBU and which have remained unanswered to date.
AVROTROS’s approach is and remains that the Song Festival is about artists and their musical message. The floor is now given to the EBU.
AVROTROS
AVROTROS will apparently await this meeting before deciding whether to participate in Eurovision 2025.
Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the updates!
